States create energy building codes; localities enforce them. Cities establish the zoning that governs sprawl. They make mobility investments that can simultaneously save adults from traffic jams and children from asthma. State commissions regulate investor-owned electric utilities and the policies that either reward or punish customers who want to produce their own power. Legislatures decide whether to establish goals for energy efficiency and renewable energy. In fact, the renewable energy standards put into effect by nearly 30 states in recent years deserve much of the credit for the rapid growth of solar and wind power in America.

On a party-line vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to require state utility regulators to set separate rates for their solar customers from those who buy all their electricity directly from the power company. Sen. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria, who admitted she got utility help in crafting the measure, said she sees HCR 2041 as ensuring solar customers pay their fair share of costs.

The proposed constitutional amendment does not prohibit the Arizona Corporation Commission from requiring utilities to purchase the excess electricity that homeowners and businesses generate. But it spells out that the utilities cannot be forced to pay anything more than wholesale costs, even as they may be selling it back to a next-door neighbor at retail rates.

States create energy building codes; localities enforce them. Cities establish the zoning that governs sprawl. They make mobility investments that can simultaneously save adults from traffic jams and children from asthma. State commissions regulate investor-owned electric utilities and the policies that either reward or punish customers who want to produce their own power. Legislatures decide whether to establish goals for energy efficiency and renewable energy. In fact, the renewable energy standards put into effect by nearly 30 states in recent years deserve much of the credit for the rapid growth of solar and wind power in America.

Renewable energy produced by the solar arrays will help power the schools, the release said, partially offsetting the current energy use by the facilities. Each school will have access to online tools that will enable teachers and students to monitor the total and hourly output of the array, environmental benefits delivered and many other metrics.

To us, the case is clear. Actions to reduce carbon emissions in urban areas are expected to be a $17tn global economic opportunity by 2050 based on energy savings alone. Those efforts will save lives, because air pollution contributes to more than 10,000 premature deaths each day. Mass transit can help reduce traffic accidents, and also increase economic activity by reducing congestion. And pedestrianizing key areas – such as the river banks in Paris in the summer – can improve quality of life for urban dwellers.

Nick Stumo-Langer was Communications Manager at ILSR working for all five initiatives. He ran ILSR's Facebook and Twitter profiles and builds relationships with reporters. He is an alumnus of St. Olaf College and animated by the concerns of monopoly power across our economy.